John Cherry's Weblog

For a recent major publication, I was asked about Linux being pre-installed on desktop offerings.  Mark Shuttleworth, and a host of others in the industry are also responding to inquiries about what this would mean to the desktop ecosystem and what hurdles would need to be crossed by the vendors to make pre-installed Linux a reality.  It is definitely not a drop-kick proposition.

When asked about Linux as a pre-installed option for HP, I replied:

HP is considering an offering of a Linux-installed PC as part of its standard offering for one simple reason: Big deals!

HP has been hesitant to jump into the Linux desktop space because in both the enterprise and consumer space, there has not been the demand for it.  When we hear that HP is responding to deals involving thousands of desktops, we can assume that these desktops will be deployed in government or enterprise environments.  If HP goes to all the work to integrate Linux into desktop hardware, and to provide support, training, and system management for the enterprise, why not create a general offering as well?

By the way, HP has been poised moving into the enterprise desktop market for years.  HP is a model community member when it comes to supporting a full line of printers on Linux.  An example is the HPLIP support for HP multifunction printers (printing, scanning, faxing).

What factors would make this the right time for HP and Dell to make Linux come standard on a PC?

It has always been difficult to predict which factors and which threshholds needed to be crossed for Linux to be offered as a pre-installed option for desktop/laptop PCs. Linux has a long way to go if we are talking about replicating the entire Window desktop ecosystem.  But for many client purposes, Linux is already there.  With the Linux platform becoming more standardized (LSB), document formats becoming standardized (ODF), available media formats, and basic office capabilities becoming available as open source (Open Office) and web-based services (Google apps), the Linux desktop is good enough for a whole range of enterprise deployments.  AND, while Linux desktops may not replicate the Windows desktop ecosystem, many consumers are seeing that a Linux desktop is good enough for them as well based on responses in Dell's suggestion box.

If large vendors such as HP and Dell come on board with pre-installed Linux would that alleviate user fears?

Support from large vendors such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo would definitely alleviate consumer fear.  Consumers don't care what operating system they are running as long as they can do what they want to do with the computer (applications).  If you are an average consumer that wants to browse the internet, read email, handle documents/spreadsheets, and manage media (music, videos, pictures, etc.), a pre-installed Linux desktop may be for you.  As a bonus, your PC is likely to less expensive and far less vulnerable to viruses and worms.

What are some challenges to getting Linux-on-PC to become common and accepted by the general population?

As I mentioned, Linux is not likely to be a Windows replacement in the near future.  It is estimated that over 30,000 applications are available to consumers for Windows platforms.  However, as more and more applications become available for Linux, more markets will be open for Linux-based desktops.  We have already seen significant penetration into the fixed use markets (point of sale, ATMs, airline kiosks, etc.) as well as technical workstations (software development, animation, movie production, CAD/CAM, etc.) and transactional environments (banking, call centers, travel agents, etc.).  Now, we are hearing the starting gun for basic office use in the enterprise as well as some basic consumer markets. Challenges that will be addressed by the hardware vendors delivering pre-installed Linux include hardware support (especially for non-open hardware and the latest plugglable widgets), support for open and proprietary media formats (should be easy in pre-installed systems), and the ability for 3rd party software vendors to easily create and install software on the platform.  By the way, the Linux desktop ecosystem already offers hundreds of quality open source applications that exceed the capabilities of much of the proprietary offerings and are certainly more satisfying than the pre-installed "cripple-ware" that is bundled with many of the Windows platforms.